Winemaker Notes
Light lemon color with green highlights. Intense character that brings a Mediterranean garden with green herbs to mind. Citrus fruits, unripe peach, four o'clock flower and a wonderful green character reminiscent of green pepper, freshly cut grass, fennel and mint. Its wonderfully refreshing acidity in combination with the moderate body and medium alcohol make a real flexible wine, easily paired with different foods without losing its expressiveness.
Mediterranean cuisine, and Greek cuisine above all, will be flattered when paired with the charming Plano Malagousia. Its acidity will go well with dishes dressed in the traditional egg-lemon ‘avgolemono’ sauce: stuffed zucchini, dolmas vine leaves stuffed with rice, dolmas with cabbage leaves, pork with celeriac or leek. It will highlight dishes with avocado, boiled greens and Cretan ‘stamnagathi’, while it will be perfect with any Country-style Greek pie. Of course, the Mediterranean traits and flavors of Plano Malagousia will pair it successfully with the dishes of Italian cuisine: Pasta alla Genovese with basil pesto sauce, pizza with green sauce, vegetable risotti, green salads and cold appetizers.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Grapefruit, coriander, white pepper and lemongrass on the nose of this fragrant and refreshing white. It’s medium-bodied with a lightly waxy texture and a cool and delicious finish.
There are hundreds of white grape varieties grown throughout the world. Some are indigenous specialties capable of producing excellent single varietal wines. Each has its own distinct viticultural characteristics, as well as aroma and flavor profiles.
A picturesque Mediterranean nation with a rich wine culture dating back to ancient times, Greece has so much more to offer than just retsina. Between the mainland and the country’s many islands, a wealth of Greek wine styles exists, made mostly from Greece’s plentiful indigenous varieties. After centuries of adversity after Ottoman rule, the modern Greek wine industry took off in the late 20th century with an influx of newly trained winemakers and investments in winemaking technology.
The climate—generally hot Mediterranean—can vary a bit with latitude and elevation, and is mostly moderated by cool maritime breezes. Drought can be an issue for Greek wine during the long, dry summers, sometimes necessitating irrigation.
Over 300 indigenous grapes have been identified throughout Greece, and though not all of them are suitable for wine production, future decades will likely see a significant revival and refinement of many of these native Greek wine varieties. Assyrtiko, the crisp, saline Greek wine variety of the island of Santorini, is one of the most important and popular white wine varieties, alongside Roditis, Robola, Moschofilero, and Malagousia. Muscat is also widely grown for both sweet and dry wines. Prominent red wine varieties include full-bodied and fruity Agiorghitiko, native to Nemea; Macedonia’s savory, tannic Xinomavro; and Mavrodaphne, used commonly to produce a Port-like fortified wine in the Peloponnese.